Make Your Own Survival Food!

There are many websites that are dedicated to dehydrated and backpacking style foods. The design of these foods is have food items that will last for long periods of time and most of the time be able to be stored without refrigeration. As a result of these features, backpacking foods also double as ideal survival foods. Many of the previously mentioned websites will provide expertise and recipes that will allow you to make your own survival foods. But wait, there is more! If you read this article right now, I will provide a few links to valuable resources that will allow you to create your own survival foods should you choose to. OK, so it is obvious that you will not be required to read everything now to take advantage of the links provided but it did add a little infomercial excitement!

One of the primary needs to complete many of these creations is a dehydrator or means of dehydration. This can be achieved through purchasing a dehydrator at one of your local big box stores, buying a higher end dehydrator, or even through solar dehydration. The local chain retailer will likely offer you an affordable dehydrator that will work fairly well and can be acquired for around $50 in most cases. There are also many high end dehydrators that are designed to withstand heavy use for longer periods of time. Which option is better for you is really what it comes down to.

Solar dehydrating is a popular choice as a method for food preservation in underprivileged countries and as a result of this fact, there are several well researched articles that come from humanitarian and charitable organizations around the world. Many of these article go into great detail on the specifics of how to properly dehydrate foods using the sun. For those that are interested in dehydrating foods but might be interested in building their own, plans can be found online for this route as well. The advantage of making your own dehydrator is that you are able to make it almost any size that you want. When I was a kid, my family used to dehydrate fruit by what seemed to be the wheelbarrow full in the dehydrator that my dad built.

If a dehydrator is not part of your present equipment inventory and will not be a part of your life in the near future, do not be discouraged! There are still plenty of survival foods that can be made without the ability to dehydrate. The following are some great resources that I have found for creating your own survival foods at a fraction of the retail cost:

Quiet Journey – A website dedicated to camping and paddlesports, there is also a large collection of recipes that would make ideal foods for survival as well as your outdoor adventures. Some of the more interesting recipes that I saw were big boy burritos, cinnamon buns, and best camp spaghetti.

Dehydrate 2 Store – This is a literal wealth of dehydrating knowledge. Not only does this site include many recipes that can be used to create your survival rations, there are also many tips to help you. Make sure you check out their videos! Some of the recipes that intrigued me included the baked potato, pork fried rice, and instant oatmeal packets.

Backpacking Chef – Some of you may remember an earlier post about the ‘Practically Free Survival Stove‘ which came from the BackpackingChef. Well not only is this a great resource on how to make a survival stove, but also an invaluable place to find information on dehydrated foods, how to make backpacking meals, food packaging, and even how to plan your meals for your time on the trail. Make sure to use Chef Glenn’s recipes to create your own survival foods. Don’t leave without checking out how to make “bark” which can be used for stand alone foods as well as for soup, stew, and sauce bases. There are definitely some foods here that could be used to create some gourmet inspired survival foods.

These are some of my favorite sites for information on making your own survival foods and dehydrated food in general. Do you know of any websites that should be added to this list? Please leave a comment and let me know what I missed.

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"It always amazes me how quickly people turn into good little socialists when they run out of their stuff. As long as they have something, it's theirs. Let them run out, and you need to share."
― A. American, Going Home

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